From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on inbox.vuxu.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.8 required=5.0 tests=HEADER_FROM_DIFFERENT_DOMAINS, MAILING_LIST_MULTI autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (minnie.tuhs.org [50.116.15.146]) by inbox.vuxu.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 0E98A267FF for ; Sat, 18 May 2024 20:13:55 +0200 (CEST) Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [IPv6:::1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 8CEF243312; Sun, 19 May 2024 04:13:51 +1000 (AEST) Received: from server907.appriver.com (server907.appriver.com [204.232.250.38]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id DE3874330F for ; Sun, 19 May 2024 04:13:42 +1000 (AEST) X-Note: This Email was scanned by AppRiver SecureTide X-Note-AR-ScanTimeLocal: 05/18/2024 2:13:41 PM X-Note: SecureTide Build: 5/1/2024 2:42:40 PM UTC (2.45.2.0) X-Note: Filtered by 10.246.0.224 X-Note-AR-Scan: None - PIPE Received: by server907.appriver.com (CommuniGate Pro PIPE 6.2.15) with PIPE id 402572387; Sat, 18 May 2024 14:13:41 -0400 Received: from [10.246.0.39] (HELO smtp.us.exg7.exghost.com) by server907.appriver.com (CommuniGate Pro SMTP 6.2.15) with ESMTPS id 402572378; Sat, 18 May 2024 14:13:37 -0400 Received: from smtpclient.apple (108.202.98.130) by E19DN02C-S1E7.exg7.exghost.local (192.168.244.113) with Microsoft SMTP Server (version=TLS1_2, cipher=TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384) id 15.2.1544.11; Sat, 18 May 2024 14:13:36 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 (Mac OS X Mail 16.0 \(3696.120.41.1.1\)) From: Brantley Coile In-Reply-To: Date: Sat, 18 May 2024 14:13:36 -0400 Message-ID: <1F0ECDE3-F653-48FB-AC95-FCE84C9B14A5@coraid.com> References: To: Douglas McIlroy X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.3696.120.41.1.1) X-ClientProxiedBy: E19DN07C-S1E7.exg7.exghost.local (192.168.245.65) To E19DN02C-S1E7.exg7.exghost.local (192.168.244.113) X-Rerouted-By-Exchange: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Note: This Email was scanned by AppRiver SecureTide X-Note-AR-ScanTimeLocal: 05/18/2024 2:13:37 PM X-Note: SecureTide Build: 5/1/2024 2:42:40 PM UTC (2.45.2.0) X-Note: Filtered by 10.246.0.224 X-Policy: coraid.com X-Primary: coraid.com@coraid.com X-Note-Sender: brantley@coraid.com X-Note-Envelope-Recip: FAILURE,DELAY, X-Note-Envelope-Recip: FAILURE,DELAY, X-Virus-Scan: V- X-Note-SnifferID: 0 X-GBUdb-Analysis: Unknown X-Signature-Violations: 0-0-0-2999-c X-Note-419: 0 ms. Fail:0 Chk:1432 of 1432 total X-Note: VSCH-CT/SI: 0-1432/SG:1 5/18/2024 2:12:39 PM X-Note: Spam Tests Failed: X-Country-Path: PRIVATE->LOCAL X-Note-Sending-IP: 10.246.0.39 X-Note-Reverse-DNS: X-Note-Return-Path: brantley@coraid.com X-Note: User Rule Hits: X-Note: Global Rule Hits: G223 G225 G226 G227 G244 G245 G246 G619 G853 X-Note: Encrypt Rule Hits: X-Note: Mail Class: VALID Message-ID-Hash: NN53SO2OKRU5RIWCCAXI5BQPRS5MZLRK X-Message-ID-Hash: NN53SO2OKRU5RIWCCAXI5BQPRS5MZLRK X-MailFrom: brantley@coraid.com X-Mailman-Rule-Misses: dmarc-mitigation; no-senders; approved; emergency; loop; banned-address; member-moderation; nonmember-moderation; administrivia; implicit-dest; max-recipients; max-size; news-moderation; no-subject; digests; suspicious-header CC: TUHS main list X-Mailman-Version: 3.3.6b1 Precedence: list Subject: [TUHS] Re: On Bloat and the Idea of Small Specialized Tools List-Id: The Unix Heritage Society mailing list Archived-At: List-Archive: List-Help: List-Owner: List-Post: List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: I'm so grateful that we are able to work using Plan 9.=20 aztec% wc -l /sys/src/cmd/p.c 90 /sys/src/cmd/p.c aztec%=20 So the size of Plan 9's paginator's source code is 208 lines smaller = than the help for that paginator. And it has no options. Just say'n. bwc > On May 18, 2024, at 2:07 PM, Douglas McIlroy = wrote: >=20 > I just revisited this ironic echo of Mies van der Rohe's aphorism, = "Less is more". > % less --help | wc > 298 > Last time I looked, the line count was about 220. Bloat is = self-catalyzing.=20 >=20 > What prompted me to look was another disheartening discovery. The = "small special tool" Gnu diff has a 95-page manual! And it doesn't = cover the option I was looking up (-h). To be fair, the manual includes = related programs like diff3(1), sdiff(1) and patch(1), but the original = manual for each fit on one page. >=20 > Doug